1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to harvesting cotton and more particularly to a unit for transferring the harvested cotton from a cotton harvester to a module maker. Such a unit is commonly called a boll buggy in the art. A cotton farmer is one having ordinary skill in this art.
2. Description of the Related Art
The need for a unit to transfer cotton from a harvester to a module maker has been recognized. Specifically, JOHNSON U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,696, describes one such unit where the harvested cotton was transferred into a basket and then the basket lifted from its framework by lifting mechanisms on the module maker. JOHNSON U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,631, discloses a unit wherein the basket that received the harvested seed cotton from the harvester was rotated about the upper edge of the basket which was at a height above the module maker in order to dump it in the module maker. The top of the basket was angled so that it could receive cotton from the harvester on the low edge and dump the cotton into a module maker from the elevated edge.
Also, Case I-H, an agricultural machinery manufacturer has on the market a large cotton harvester which unloads the cotton harvester basket by drag chains from an extended panel somewhat similar to that disclosed in this invention.
Despite the recognition of the desirability of providing a boll buggy, still today much of the cotton is transferred from the harvester to the module maker by pulling the harvester adjacent to the module maker and dumping the basket of harvested cotton directly from the harvester into the module maker.